Stats show salmon season was big breadwinner for AlaskaKODIAK — According to reports released Oct. 31 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, this year’s salmon harvest is the third most valuable since 1975, even as the number of fish fell below expectations. According to the latest ex-vessel statistics, which record the prices paid to boats at the dock, Alaska’s salmon fishery was worth $603 million. The Kodiak fishery alone was worth $46.7 million across all fish...

Pollock fishery closes for the year in Gulf of AlaskaKODIAK — The final organized pollock fishing season of the year has wrapped up in the central Gulf of Alaska, and Kodiak fishermen finished right on this year’s quota, according to catch reports from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Pollock, a cheap whitefish that’s a mainstay of fish sticks and processed fish sandwiches, typically comes from Bering Sea trawlers, but trawlers based in Kodiak harvest a respec...

Partially disabled catcher-processor limps toward UnalaskaKODIAK — The Rebecca Irene, a 140-foot catcher-processor, is safe, Unalaska radio station KUCB-FM reports, after the largest storm in 30 years hit Western Alaska. The Rebecca Irene, homeported in Seattle, lost one of its two engines to mechanical failure just before the storm hit the coast. Early forecasts predicted 55 mph winds and 35-foot seas for the Rebecca Irene’s area, and as a precaution, the Coast Guard cu...

Kodiak Coast Guardsmen make TV series debut tonightKODIAK — TV viewers get their next taste of Kodiak Island tonight as the Weather Channel’s “Coast Guard: Alaska” premieres at 5 p.m. Alaska Standard Time. The show, which follows Air Station Kodiak rescue swimmers and helicopter crews as they train, live and play on the island, has been filming for most of the year. While crews from the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” have occasionally filmed on the island, ...

Ahead of storm, Coast Guard deploys from KodiakKODIAK — With the biggest winter storm in 30 years bearing down on Western Alaska, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak is deploying extra resources to the area. “We don’t routinely preposition assets for a storm,” said Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis, but “we haven’t had a storm of this magnitude for a while. This particular storm is expected to have as much as Category 2 hurricane-force wi...

Alaska salmon experts wary of salmon virus reportsKODIAK — The announcement last month that a potentially lethal virus may have spread to Pacific populations of sockeye salmon in British Colombia seemed to confirm the direst predictions of fish farm detractors. But further testing has been unable to confirm some of the initial reports, causing officials to reduce their cries of alarm. The fast-spreading infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus is responsible for caus...

Crewman medevaced from crab boat WizardKODIAK — A Coast Guard helicopter evacuated an unidentified 28-year-old man from the 150-foot crab boat Wizard Monday afternoon north of Cold Bay. According to the Coast Guard, Communications Station Kodiak received a distress call from the Wizard about 1:20 p.m. Monday. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk on a training flight in the area diverted to the Wizard and hoisted the man aboard. The man, whose name was not immed...

State report: Kodiak airport creates 130 local jobsKODIAK — Kodiak’s airport is even more important to the island’s economy than previously thought. That’s the conclusion from a new report by Anchorage’s Northern Economics, a consulting firm hired by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The report, following on the heels of one that looked at the impact of airports on the state as a whole, examined 12 airports representative of the hundre...

Kodiakans watch state drive toward standards for animal careKODIAK — The office of the state veterinarian has proposed statewide standards for animal care, and Kodiak pet and livestock owners say they’ll be watching closely to see what comes out of the process. Assistant state veterinarian Jay Fuller said about 50 people attended the project’s first workshop last week in Anchorage. “I think the biggest participation has been from animal control authorities around the state...

Kodiak microbiologist warns of threats to state seafoodKODIAK — This summer, cantaloupe eaters across the United States had cause to find a new favorite fruit. An outbreak of listeria at a farm in Colorado has so far sickened 133 people in 26 states and turned people nationwide away from buying the fruit. In a brown bag lunch seminar Thursday, microbiologist Brian Himelbloom cautioned that something similar could happen to packaged Alaska salmon if processors don’t ta...